Sadie the adorable border collie first got taken into Newquay 's St Francis Home for Animals 15 months ago, when she was found “a terrified stray” that had been running the streets with ripped bloodied paws.

When she was first brought to the shelter as just a nine month old puppy , she was terrified of people, afraid of dogs, scared of the sounds of wind and rain and had never worn a collar or lead in her life.

In fact, staff at the centre believed that she had even never lived inside.

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A St Francis Home for Animals spokesperson said: “Sadie arrived to us as a stray in December 2016. She had been running as a terrified stray for days. Her feet were sore and bleeding, her pads so very fragile and once she had been caught it was clear by this point that she had probably never been walked.”

Gorgeous Sadie is now looking for her forever home (Image: St Francis Home for Animals)

It took months of countless hours spent with the small collie, who is now two years old, to build her trust in people.

The spokesperson added: “We would like to say a huge thank you to our amazing team of volunteers, some of which have simply sat in Sadie's kennel chatting to her in the early days when we couldn't show her anything but the fact she was 'safe' with us.”

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Although she has come a long way, the shelter said that Sadie will “always be worried about strangers”.

It will take a while for Sadie to learn to trust her new family and to settle into life in a house, but St Francis Home for Animals now hopes to take the first steps to finding her forever home.

She was only nine months old when she was found "a terrified stray" (Image: St Francis Home for Animals)

The spokesperson said: “We are ready to look for that someone to carry on Sadie's journey.

"We are looking for a kind owner, one who will let Sadie form her own friendship with you in her own time. One who can read and understand when a dog is worried and help her out but without expecting too much initially.”

Anyone who thinks they could give the young collie the home that she deserves must have another dog already to give Sadie some company to play with, no young children, must have a lot of time to spend with her and must have a 6ft fence.

For further information call St Francis Home for Animals on, 01637 872976.